By mid-1944, his health had deteriorated to the extent that he was evacuated to Australia, and for a time was not expected to live. By early 1945 he had recovered sufficiently to be appointed to command the 6th Division. While flying to assume this new command, the RAAFLockheed Hudson aircraft he was travelling in crashed into the sea, killing all on board.

Vasey was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Permanent Military Forces (regular army), and joined the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). He was posted to the 2nd Division Artillery, and sailed for Egypt in December 1915. The 2nd Division moved to France in March 1916, where Vasey was promoted to captain in August, and given command of the 13th Field Battery in November.[5]

During the periods October 4th and 12th 1917, as brigade major this officer worked continuously day and night with untiring effort and devotion to duty.

It was due to the assistance rendered by this officer that the arduous work was successfully carried out.

In July and August 1917 near Warneton this officer showed conspicuous gallantry in action in supervising the work of the battalions in the forward line without any fear for his personal safety in a way that was most eminently satisfactory and deserving of the highest praise.

During the 19 days in June 1917, that this brigade was in the line in front of Messines, Major Vasey carried out the duties of brigade major with devotion and ability.

This officer has been brigade major of this brigade since August 1917 and during the whole of this period he has worked with zeal and ability in such a way that his work has been most successful, and has aided materially in bringing the brigade to its present high standard of efficiency.[9]

In July 1918 Vasey was assigned to 3rd Division Headquarters as a staff officer (GSO3) but this appointment was brief; his successor at the 11th Infantry Brigade was wounded and Vasey returned to his former post. As such, he participated in the defence of Amiens, the Battle of Amiens in August 1918 and the attack on the Hindenburg Line in September.[10] He was also twice Mentioned in Despatches. He served for a time as GSO2 of the 3rd Division before embarking for Australia on 14 September 1919.[11]

Vasey returned to the PMF, in which he held the substantive rank of lieutenant and the honorary rank of major. He became so discouraged at his prospects with the Army that, studying at night, he qualified as an accountant.[12] He married Jessie Mary Halbert at St Matthew's Church of England, Glenroy, Victoria on 17 May 1921. They bought a house in Kew, Victoria with a War Service Loan.[13]

Vasey held a series of staff postings in Australia and India. From 1928 to 1929 he attended the Staff College at Quetta, India,[14] where Bernard Montgomery was an instructor.[15] In October 1934 he was appointed as a brigade major once more.[16] Following a brief stint as a GSO2 on the headquarters of the 1st Indian Division, his final posting in India was again as a brigade major,[17] from April 1936 to March 1937.[18] By November 1934 his substantive rank was that of captain, but while he held the brevet and local rank of major,[19] he was not promoted to the substantive rank of major until 1 March 1935.[20] Vasey was finally promoted to brevet lieutenant colonel on 12 May 1937, after nearly 20 years as a major, although he was only promoted to the substantive rank on 2 November 1939.[21] This was not unusual, and it fostered a sense of injustice and frustration among regular officers, who found themselves outranked by CMF officers who had enjoyed faster promotion.[22]

Shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Blamey appointed Vasey to the 6th Division as his Assistant Adjutant General and Quartermaster General (AA&QMG), the senior logistics staff officer of the division. He received the Second AIF serial number VX9.[23] Vasey embarked for Palestine as commander of the advance party of the division in December 1939.[24]

Women friends and family on the wharf waving farewell to the departing troop transport ship RMS Strathallan carrying the Advance Party of the 6th Division AIF to service overseas. They include: Vasey's wife Jessie (second from the left), her sisters Thelma Halbert (left) and Doris Sleigh (second from right), and Vasey's sister Marjorie (right).[25]

Gavin Long noted that Vasey was "highly strung, thrustful, hard working... concealed a deeply emotional even sentimental nature behind a mask of laconic and blunt speech. Although he was appointed to head the administrative staff there burned within him a desire to lead Australian troops as a commander."[23] Nonetheless, Vasey remained AA&QMG during the Battle of Bardia.[26] Following the capture of Tobruk in January 1941, he replaced Frank Berryman as GSO1.[27]

In March 1941, Vasey was promoted to temporary brigadier and took command of the 6th Division's 19th Infantry Brigade following the departure of Horace Robertson to Australia on medical grounds.[28] He led it in Greece, suffering a defeat at the Battle of Vevi.[29] Vasey's instructions to his men were couched in typical Vasey terms: "Here you bloody well are and here you bloody well stay. And if any bloody German gets between your post and the next, turn your bloody bren around and shoot him up the arse."[30] The 19th Infantry Brigade was evacuated to Crete, where it fought in the Battle of Crete.[31] Vasey was commended for his work in Crete and was among the last to be evacuated to Egypt, but some 3,000 Australians were taken prisoner.[32] Although it was a bitter defeat, Vasey's performance was considered outstanding; he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE),[33] awarded a Bar to his DSO,[34] and later the Greek War Cross.

Vasey returned to Australia in December 1941 to become Chief of Staff of Home Forces, with the rank of major general, which became substantive on 1 September 1942. At age 46, this made him the youngest general in the Australian Army for a time.[35] His new command had the role of training and organising the Army in Australia, a task which became urgent with the entry of Japan into the war. In March 1942, Vasey, along with Major General Edmund Herring and Brigadier Clive Steele, approached Army Minister Frank Forde with a proposal that all officers over the age of 50 be immediately retired and Major General Horace Robertson appointed Commander in Chief. The "revolt of the generals" collapsed with the welcome news that Blamey was returning from the Middle East to become Commander in Chief.[36] In the reorganisation that followed his return, Blamey appointed Vasey as Deputy Chief of the General Staff (DCGS).[37] The two men worked closely, with Vasey conveying Blamey's orders to commanders in the field.[38] With the establishment of Advanced Land Headquarters (Landops) at St Lucia, Queensland, Vasey became the principal operational staff officer there.[39]

In September 1942, Blamey decided to send the 6th Division to Papua to help stem the Japanese advance along the Kokoda Trail. He visited Lieutenant General Sydney Rowell, commander of New Guinea Force and I Corps, in Port Moresby and asked him who he would prefer to command the division. Rowell selected Vasey, so Vasey became commander of the 6th Division, and was replaced as DCGS by Berryman.[40] Later that month, General Douglas MacArthur and Prime Minister John Curtin ordered Blamey to take personal command of New Guinea Force. After a falling out, Blamey relieved first Rowell, replacing him with Herring,[41] and then Major General Arthur "Tubby" Allen of the 7th Division. On 27 October, Vasey flew up to Myola to relieve Allen.[42]

Under Vasey's command, the 7th Division recaptured Kokoda on 2 November.[43] It pushed on towards the north coast of Papua, only to be stopped by the Japanese short of their ultimate objective.[44] The division was forced to fight a bloody battle around Buna, and, together with American troops under Lieutenant GeneralRobert L. Eichelberger, ultimately defeated the Japanese and captured Gona.[45] After the campaign, the 7th Division returned to Australia. The men went on leave before reassembling for training on the Atherton Tableland. Vasey went on leave in Melbourne but wound up being admitted to the Heidelberg Military Hospital for treatment for Malaria.[46]

Nadzab, New Guinea, 5 September 1943. Paratroops of the US 503rd Parachute Infantry seize the airstrip at Nadzab, allowing the 7th Division to fly in. General Vasey was in the plane from which the photograph was taken.[47]

By July 1943, the 7th Division was on its way back to Port Moresby. Vasey flew up to work out arrangements with Herring and the air commander in New Guinea, Major General Ennis Whitehead of the US Fifth Air Force.[48] Probably inspired by his experience on Crete, Vasey proposed using paratroops, and pressed his superiors for an entire regiment instead of the battalion he was originally allotted. The new campaign opened in spectacular fashion on 5 September 1943 with a parachute drop of the US 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment in broad daylight to seize the airstrip at Nadzab in the Markham Valley. They were soon reinforced by Australian and Papuan troops that had advanced overland from Wau, and then by the 7th Division's 25th Infantry Brigade, which flew in by air.[49]

The 25th Infantry Brigade advanced down the Markham Valley and entered Lae on 16 September.[50] The division then advanced up the Markham Valley and down the Ramu Valley. A series of operations followed. First, commandos of the 2/6th Independent Company seized Kaiapit in the Battle of Kaiapit on 19 September. Vasey flew there on 21 September in a Piper Cub, followed by his 21st Infantry Brigade, under Brigadier Ivan Dougherty.[51] The 21st Infantry Brigade advanced on Gusap and then Dumpu, where Vasey established his headquarters on 10 October. Finally, it pushed on into the Finisterre Range, where it was halted by logistical difficulties.[52] In the Finisterre Range campaign, the 7th Division captured Shaggy Ridge and advanced across the mountains towards Madang.[53]

Despite his achievements, Vasey was twice passed over for promotion. In November 1943, the announcement of the appointment of Lieutenant General Iven Mackay as High Commissioner to India, and the subsequent elevation of Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead to command New Guinea Force and Second Army, created a vacancy at II Corps, which was filled by Vasey's old rival, Frank Berryman.[54] Then in February 1944, the appointment of Lieutenant General Sir Edmund Herring as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, led to a vacancy at I Corps, for which General Blamey nominated both Vasey and Major General Stanley Savige, but recommended the latter.[55] Army Minister Frank Forde queried Blamey's recommendation, which was very unusual, and asked who was the senior officer. On being informed that Savige was senior to Vasey—although not as senior as Arthur "Tubby" Allen or James Cannan—he dropped his objection.[56] General Douglas MacArthur considered Vasey's supersession "outrageous".[57] Yet Blamey had not lost faith in Vasey; asked at a social function about his opinion of Vasey, Blamey called out to him across the room. "There, ladies and gentlemen," Blamey declared, "is my ideal fighting commander."[58]

Vasey chats with three of his men. Vasey's concern for and rapport with his men was a key factor in his success as a general.[59]

Blamey had reason to be concerned about Vasey's health. Vasey was drinking heavily,[60] and was hospitalised in New Guinea in February 1944 with a skin condition,[61] and again in Australia in March 1944 with a respiratory tract infection.[62] In June 1944, he became seriously ill with malaria and acute Peripheral neuropathy, and for a time was not expected to live. 7th Division soldiers in the hospital constantly asked the nursing staff about his progress.[63] The men called him 'Bloody George', not after his casualties, but after his favourite adjective, and Vasey's personable style of command attracted immense loyalty from his men. "Vasey owns the 7th," wrote a Melbourne journalist, "but every man in the division believes he owns Vasey."[58] He was again Mentioned in Despatches on 21 July 1944.[64]

Vasey slowly recovered. In October 1944, Blamey set up a Post-War Army Planning Committee headed by Vasey to report on the future of the Royal Military College and the training and education of Staff Corps officers. Vasey called for a greatly expanded regular army of 20,000 men.[65] His report recommended that the course at Duntroon be deepened professionally and academically to the level of an undergraduate university degree.[66] The report's recommendations were not accepted or welcomed by the government but pointed the way to the future, in which the Army would become increasingly professional.[65] In February 1945, Frank Forde pressed for Vasey to be given another active command.[67] Blamey, who still had doubts about Vasey's physical fitness despite Vasey being given an A by an Army medical board,[68] reluctantly appointed him to command the 6th Division, then in action in the Aitape-Wewak campaign.[69]

Generals Simpson, Blamey, and Morshead pay their respects at the military funeral service for Generals Vasey and Downes in Cairns. A public memorial service was also held in Melbourne.[70]

Vasey's concern for his men outlived him. Jessie would go on to found the War Widow's Guild, serving as its president until her death in 1966. Thus, "the legacy of George Vasey's war was a more compassionate Australian society."[75] As a military commander, Vasey demonstrated that a regular officer could be an "ideal fighting commander" and not just a competent staff officer. Vasey hastened the post-war transition of the Australian Army to a professional force dominated by regular soldiers.[76] Historian David Horner wrote: "Not only was his command marked by tactical flair, innovation and imagination, but he also displayed remarkable qualities of leadership in adverse situations. Vasey led not just through technical expertise but by example, personality, and a genuine concern for his men."[77]

Today, Vasey's papers are in the National Library of Australia,[78] and his decorations are held by the Australian War Memorial,[79] as is his portrait. A final Mention in Despatches was published three days after his death.[80] The Mulgrave Shire Council (Cairns) named the esplanade at Trinity Beach "Vasey Esplanade" in his honour and erected a plaque on a brick memorial wall to commemorate all eleven service personnel lost in the crash.[81]

^Long, To Benghazi, p. 89. White is the only four-star Australian general to die in any conflict.

^Dennis, Grey, Morris and Prior, The Oxford Companion to Australian History, p. 682. Wynter, who died of natural causes on 7 February 1945, is the only three-star Australian general to die in any conflict.

1.
Cairns
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Cairns is a major city on the east coast of Far North Queensland in Australia. The city is the 5th-most-populous in Queensland and ranks 14th overall in Australia, Cairns was founded in 1876 and named after William Wellington Cairns, Governor of Queensland from 1875 to 1877. It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield and it later developed into a railhead and major port for exporting sugar cane, gold and other metals, minerals and agricultural products from surrounding coastal areas and the Atherton Tableland region. The estimated residential population of the Cairns urban area in 2015 was 147,993, based on 2015 data, the associated local government area has experienced an average annual growth rate of 2. 3% over the last 10 years. Cairns is a popular tourist destination because of its climate and access to the Great Barrier Reef. Prior to British settlement, the Cairns area was inhabited by the Gimuy Walubara Yidinji people, the area is known in the local Yidiny language as Gimuy. In 1770, James Cook mapped the site of Cairns. Closer investigation by several official expeditions 100 years later established its potential for development into a port, Cairns was founded in 1876, hastened by the need to export gold discovered on the tablelands to the west of the inlet. The site was predominantly mangrove swamps and sand ridges, labourers gradually cleared the swamps, and the sand ridges were filled with dried mud, sawdust from local sawmills, and ballast from a quarry at Edge Hill. Debris from the construction of a railway to Herberton on the Atherton Tableland, the railway opened up land later used for agriculture on the lowlands, and for fruit and dairy production on the Tableland. The success of local agriculture helped establish Cairns as a port, on 25 April 1926, the Cairns Sailors and Soldiers War Memorial was unveiled by Alexander Frederick Draper, the mayor of the City of Cairns. Combat missions were flown out of Cairns in support of the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942, Edmonton and White Rock south of Cairns were major military supply areas and US Paratroopers trained at Gordonvale and the Goldsborough Valley. A Special Forces training base was established at the old Fairview homestead on Munros Hill and this base was officially known as the Z Experimental Station, but referred to informally as The House on the Hill. After World War II, Cairns gradually developed into a centre for tourism, the opening of the Cairns International Airport in 1984 helped establish the city as a desirable destination for international tourism. Cairns is located on the east coast of Cape York Peninsula on a strip between the Coral Sea and the Great Dividing Range. The northern part of the city is located on Trinity Bay, to the south of the Trinity Inlet lies the Aboriginal community of Yarrabah. Some of the suburbs are located on flood plains. The Mulgrave River and Barron River flow within the greater Cairns area, the citys centre foreshore is located on a mud flat

2.
Australian Army
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The Australian Army is Australias military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy, while the Chief of the Defence Force commands the ADF, the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army. The CA is therefore subordinate to the CDF, but is directly responsible to the Minister for Defence. Although Australian soldiers have been involved in a number of minor and major conflicts throughout its history, Australias largest peacekeeping deployment began in 1999 in East Timor, while other ongoing operations include peacekeeping on Bougainville, in the Sinai, and in the Solomon Islands. Humanitarian relief after 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake in Aceh Province, Indonesia, Operation Sumatra Assist, the 1st Division comprises a deployable headquarters, while 2nd Division under the command of Forces Command is the main home-defence formation, containing Army Reserve units. 2nd Divisions headquarters only performs administrative functions, the Australian Army has not deployed a divisional-sized formation since 1945 and does not expect to do so in the future. 1st Division carries out training activities and deploys to command large-scale ground operations. It does not have any combat units permanently assigned, Forces Command controls for administrative purposes all non-special-forces assets of the Australian Army. It is neither an operational nor a deployable command,1 Brigade – Multi-role Combat Brigade based in Darwin and Adelaide. 3 Brigade – Multi-role Combat Brigade based in Townsville,6 Brigade – Mixed brigade based in Sydney. 7 Brigade – Multi-role Combat Brigade based in Brisbane,16 Aviation Brigade – Army Aviation brigade based in Enoggera, Brisbane. 17 Combat Service Support Brigade – Logistic brigade based in Sydney, 2nd Division administers the reserve forces from its headquarters located in Sydney. 4 Brigade – based in Victoria,5 Brigade – based in New South Wales. 8 Brigade – based in New South Wales,9 Brigade – based in South Australia and Tasmania. 11 Brigade – based in Queensland,13 Brigade – based in Western Australia. Special Operations Command comprises a command formation of equal status to the commands in the ADF. It includes all of Armys special forces assets, the force will be known as the Amphibious Ready Element and will be embarked on the Navys new Canberra-class amphibious assault ships. Infantry, and some combat units of the Australian Army carry flags called the Queens Colour

3.
7th Division (Australia)
–
The 7th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. It was formed in February 1940 to serve in World War II, the division is sometimes known by the nickname The Silent Seventh, due to a perception that its achievements were unrecognised, in comparison to the other Australian divisions. The origin of this appears to be censorship of the part played by the 7th Division in the fierce fighting in the 1941 Syria-Lebanon campaign. The 7th Division along with the 6th and 9th Australian Divisions were the divisions to serve in both the Middle East and the South West Pacific Area. It was disbanded in 1946, following the end of the war, the 7th Division was the second division raised as part of the 2nd AIF following the outbreak of World War II. Approval for the formation of the new division was granted on 28 February 1940 and on 4 April its first commanding officer, upon formation the division consisted of three infantry brigades, the 19th, 20th and 21st. Of these, the 19th was formed in Palestine and the two were formed in Australia. This was short lived, however, for the month the division lost the 18th Brigade. This enabled the division to undertake training together prior to embarking for the Middle East in October 1940, in February 1941 further changes in the divisions composition occurred. The 20th and 26th Brigades were transferred to the 9th Division, on arrival in the Middle East the division undertook training in Palestine and Egypt before the 18th Brigade was sent to capture an Italian position at Giarabub. The main assault was undertaken by the 2/9th Battalion on 21 March, although a company from the 2/10th, for the loss of 15 killed and 71 wounded, the Australians captured the fortress along with 36 artillery pieces. In April, the 18th Brigade moved from Alexandria to Tobruk, in the actions around Tobruk, the division suffered 135 killed,507 wounded and 29 captured. Both brigades advanced in two columns, the initial phase of the attack came to an end on 15 June when the Vichy French launched a counterattack, striking at Merdjayoun and recapturing it and Fort Khiam. On 21 June, the 2/25th Battalion entered Damascus and Fort Khiam, by 30 June the Australians had recaptured the initiative and the 7th Division handed over the central sector to the British. Following this, the division concentrated around Jezzine before advancing towards Damour, once this was captured, the division continued on towards Beirut, which fell on 12 July. In mid-July an armistice came into effect and the division was employed on garrison duties along the coastal zone, the 18th Brigade rejoined the division in September, taking up defensive positions around Aleppo, to defend against a possible invasion by German forces through Turkey. During the campaign, two 7th Division personnel earned the Victoria Cross, lieutenant Arthur Roden Cutler, of the 2/5th Field Regiment, received the decoration for his exploits in June at Merdjayoun and in early July in the Damour area where he was seriously wounded. Corporal Jim Gordon, of the 2/31st Battalion, was the recipient of the campaign

4.
6th Division (Australia)
–
The 6th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. It was raised briefly in 1917 during World War I, but was broken up to provide reinforcements before seeing action and it was not re-raised until the outbreak of World War II, when it was formed as a unit of the Second Australian Imperial Force. Throughout 1940–41 it served in the North African Campaign, the Greek campaign, on Crete and in Syria, fighting against the Germans, Italians, in 1942, the division left the Middle East and returned to Australia to meet the threat of Japans entry into the war. Part of the division garrisoned Ceylon for a period of time. In New Guinea, its component brigades had a role in the successful counter-offensive along the Kokoda Track, at Buna–Gona. Throughout late 1943–44, the division was re-organised in Australia before being committed as a formation to one of the last Australian operations of the war around Aitape–Wewak in 1944–45. The 6th Division was first formed in 1917 in Britain during World War I as part of an effort to expand the First Australian Imperial Force, as a result, the division was broken-up as replacements several months later, before it saw action. The division was not re-raised during the years and subsequently remained off the Australian Armys order of battle until World War II broke out. Due to the provisions of the Defence Act, which precluded the five existing Militia divisions from serving overseas, the 6th Division was the first division formed within the 2nd AIF, being raised on 28 September 1939. Initially under the command of Lieutenant General Thomas Blamey, upon formation the division consisted of the 16th, 17th and 18th Brigades, each established with four infantry battalions. The 19th Brigade was subsequently raised as the third infantry brigade. Of the divisions battalions, all except one – the 2/11th – were raised in either New South Wales or Victoria. In early 1940, the majority of the 6th Division was sent to Palestine, together with the 7th Division they formed the Australian I Corps. However, France fell to German forces in July 1940, before I Corps arrived, the 6th Division first saw action in early 1941, against Italian forces in North Africa, in the advance to Benghazi as part of Operation Compass. By this time, Major General Iven Mackay had taken command of the division. In June 1940, Italy had declared war on the Allies, in September 1940, the Italian Tenth Army invaded Egypt, a British colony, threatening Allied control of the Middle East and most particularly, the Suez Canal and international supply routes. British forces under General Sir Archibald Wavell expelled the Italians from Sidi Barrani, in December 1940, the 6th Division was moved forward from training camps around Alexandria to relieve British troops around Bardia and at the end of December they were ordered to prepare to attack. On 3 January 1941, at Bardia, a coastal town just inside the Libyan border

5.
Western Front (World War I)
–
The Western Front or Western Theater was the main theatre of war during World War I. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, the tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne. Following the Race to the Sea, both sides dug in along a line of fortified trenches, stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier with France. This line remained unchanged for most of the war. Between 1915 and 1917 there were several major offensives along this front, the attacks employed massive artillery bombardments and massed infantry advances. However, a combination of entrenchments, machine gun emplacements, barbed wire, as a result, no significant advances were made. In an effort to break the deadlock, this front saw the introduction of new technology, including poison gas, aircraft. But it was only after the adoption of improved tactics that some degree of mobility was restored, the German Armys Spring Offensive of 1918 was made possible by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that marked the end of the conflict on the Eastern Front. In spite of the stagnant nature of this front, this theatre would prove decisive. The terms of peace were agreed upon with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, belgiums neutrality was guaranteed by Britain under the 1839 Treaty of London, this caused Britain to join the war at the expiration of its ultimatum at 11 pm GMT on 4 August. Armies under German generals Alexander von Kluck and Karl von Bülow attacked Belgium on 4 August 1914, Luxembourg had been occupied without opposition on 2 August. The first battle in Belgium was the Siege of Liège, which lasted from 5–16 August, Liège was well fortified and surprised the German Army under von Bülow with its level of resistance. German heavy artillery was able to demolish the main forts within a few days. Following the fall of Liège, most of the Belgian field army retreated to Antwerp, leaving the garrison of Namur isolated, with the Belgian capital, Brussels, although the German army bypassed Antwerp, it remained a threat to their flank. Another siege followed at Namur, lasting from about 20–23 August, for their part, the French had five armies deployed on their borders. The pre-war French offensive plan, Plan XVII, was intended to capture Alsace-Lorraine following the outbreak of hostilities, on 7 August the VII Corps attacked Alsace with its objectives being to capture Mulhouse and Colmar. The main offensive was launched on 14 August with 1st and 2nd Armies attacking toward Sarrebourg-Morhange in Lorraine, in keeping with the Schlieffen Plan, the Germans withdrew slowly while inflicting severe losses upon the French. The French advanced the 3rd and 4th Armies toward the Saar River and attempted to capture Saarburg, attacking Briey and Neufchateau, before being driven back

6.
Battle of Messines (1917)
–
The Nivelle Offensive in April and May had failed to achieve its more ambitious aims, led to the demoralisation of French troops and the dislocation of the Anglo-French strategy for 1917. The offensive at Messines forced the Germans to move reserves to Flanders from the Arras and Aisne fronts, the 4th Army divisions of Gruppe Wijtschate held the ridge, which were later reinforced by a division from Gruppe Ypern. The battle began with the detonation of a series of mines beneath German lines and this was followed by a creeping barrage 700 yards deep, covering the British troops as they secured the ridge, with support from tanks, cavalry patrols and aircraft. The effectiveness of the British mines, barrages and bombardments was improved by advances in artillery survey, flash-spotting, British attacks from 8–14 June advanced the front line beyond the former German Sehnen line. The Battle of Messines was a prelude to the much larger Third Battle of Ypres campaign, in January 1916, General Sir Herbert Plumer recommended to Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig the capture of Messines Ridge before an operation to capture the Gheluvelt plateau further north. The Flanders campaign was postponed because of the Battle of Verdun in 1916, Haig intended to force the Germans to move troops away from the French armies on the Aisne front, where demoralisation amid the failure of the Nivelle Offensive had led to mutinies. The British would gain observation of the slope of Menin Ridge at the west end of the Gheluvelt plateau. The front line around Ypres had changed little since the end of the Second Battle of Ypres. The British held the city, while the Germans held the ground of the Messines–Wytschaete Ridge to the south, the lower ridges to the east. The Ypres front was a salient bulging into the German lines but was overlooked by German artillery observers on the higher ground, the British had little ground observation of the German rear areas and valleys east of the ridges. Gradients varied from negligible, to 1,60 at Hooge and 1,33 at Zonnebeke, underneath the soil was London clay, sand and silt. The area was considered by the British to be drier than Loos, Givenchy, the Second Army devised a centralised artillery plan of great sophistication, following the practice established at the Battle of Arras in April 1917. The use of survey, gun calibration, weather data. Target-finding became systematic, with the use of new sound-ranging equipment, better organisation of flash-spotting, Second Army counter-battery artillery bombardments increased from twelve in the week ending 19 April, to 438 in the last ten days before the attack. A survey of captured ground after the found that 90 percent of the German artillery positions had been plotted. The 2nd Field Survey Company also assisted the mining companies by establishing the positions of objectives within the German lines, using intersection and a special series of aerial photographs. The company surveyed advanced artillery positions, so that moving forward to them once the battle had begun could begin firing as soon as they arrived at the positions. The British had begun an offensive against the German-held Wijtschate salient in 1916

7.
Battle of Passchendaele
–
The Battle of Passchendaele was a major campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies against the German Empire. Passchendaele lay on the last ridge east of Ypres,5 miles from a junction at Roulers. The next stage of the Allied plan was an advance to Thourout–Couckelaere, to close the German-controlled railway running through Roulers, further operations and a British supporting attack along the Belgian coast from Nieuwpoort, combined with Operation Hush, were to have reached Bruges and then the Dutch frontier. The campaign ended in November, when the Canadian Corps captured Passchendaele, apart from attacks in December. In 1918, the Battle of the Lys and the Fifth Battle of Ypres were fought before the Allies occupied the Belgian coast, a campaign in Flanders was controversial in 1917 and has remained so. The British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, opposed the offensive, field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, commanding the British Expeditionary Force, did not receive approval for the Flanders operation from the War Cabinet until 25 July. Belgian independence had been recognised in the Treaty of London which created a sovereign, the German invasion of Belgium on 4 August 1914, in violation of Article VII of the treaty, was the reason given by the British government for declaring war on Germany. British military operations in Belgium began with the arrival of the British Expeditionary Force at Mons on 22 August. On 10 October, Lieutenant-General Erich von Falkenhayn, the Chief of the German General Staff, ordered an attack towards Dunkirk and Calais, followed by a turn south to gain a decisive victory. On 16 October, the Belgians and some French reinforcements began the defence of western Belgium, when the offensive failed, Falkenhayn ordered the capture of Ypres to gain a local advantage. By 18 November, the First Battle of Ypres ended in failure, large British offensive operations in Flanders were not possible in 1915, due to the consequent lack of resources. The Germans conducted their own Flanders offensive at the Second Battle of Ypres, Sir Douglas Haig succeeded Sir John French as Commander-in-Chief of the BEF on 19 December 1915. A week after his appointment, Haig met Vice-Admiral Sir Reginald Bacon, Haig preferred an advance from Ypres, to bypass the flooded area around the Yser and the coast, before a coastal attack was attempted, to clear the coast to the Dutch border. Other operations were begun by the British to regain territory or to evict the Germans from ground overlooking their positions, engagements took place on 12 February at Boesinghe and on 14 February at Hooge and Sanctuary Wood. There were actions from 14–15 February and 1–4 March at The Bluff,27 March –16 April at the St. Eloi Craters, in January 1917, the Second Army held the line in Flanders from Laventie to Boesinghe with eleven divisions and up to two in reserve. There was much trench mortaring, mining and raiding by both sides and from January to May, the Second Army had 20,000 casualties. In May, reinforcements began moving to Flanders from the south, in January 1916, General Herbert Plumer, the Second Army commander, began to plan offensives against Messines Ridge, Lille and Houthulst Forest. General Henry Rawlinson was also ordered to plan an attack from the Ypres Salient on 4 February, planning continued but the Battle of Verdun, at meetings in November 1916, Haig, the French commander-in-chief Joseph Joffre and the other Allies met at Chantilly

8.
Spring Offensive
–
The Germans had realised that their only remaining chance of victory was to defeat the Allies before the overwhelming human and matériel resources of the United States could be fully deployed. They also had the advantage in numbers afforded by the nearly 50 divisions freed by the Russian surrender. There were four German offensives, codenamed Michael, Georgette, Gneisenau, once this was achieved, it was hoped that the French would seek armistice terms. The other offensives were subsidiary to Michael and were designed to divert Allied forces from the offensive on the Somme. No clear objective was established before the start of the offensives and once the operations were underway, the Allies concentrated their main forces in the essential areas, while leaving strategically worthless ground, devastated by years of combat, lightly defended. The Germans were unable to move supplies and reinforcements fast enough to maintain their advance, the fast-moving stormtroopers leading the attack could not carry enough food and ammunition to sustain themselves for long and all the German offensives petered out, in part through lack of supplies. By late April 1918, the danger of a German breakthrough had passed, the German Army had suffered heavy casualties and now occupied ground of dubious value which would prove impossible to hold with such depleted units. In August 1918, the Allies began a counter-offensive with the support of 1–2 million fresh American troops and using new artillery techniques, the German government and Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, nominally the Chief of the General Staff, were not party to the planning process. Eventually it was decided to launch Operation Michael near Saint-Quentin, at the hinge between the French and British armies, and strike north to Arras, the main reason for the choice was tactical expediency. The ground on this sector of the front would dry out much sooner after the winter and spring rains and it was also a line of least resistance as the British and French armies were weak in the sector. However, these remained only secondary and weaker operations, subordinate to Michael, the constant changing of operational targets once the offensive was underway gave the impression the German command had no coherent strategic goal. Any capture of an important strategic objective, such as the Channel ports, the success of Operation Michael led German infantry to advance too far from its supply bases and railheads. The stormtrooper units leading the advance carried supplies for only a few days, the advance was slowed by supply shortages, which gave Allied commanders more time to reinforce the threatened areas and to slow the advance still more. The stormtrooper tactic was to attack and disrupt enemy headquarters, artillery units, each major formation creamed off its best and fittest soldiers into storm units, several complete divisions were formed from these elite units. The Germans also failed to arm their forces with a mobile force, such as cavalry. This tactical error meant the infantry had to keep up a tempo of advance. Notwithstanding the effectiveness of the stormtroopers, the following German infantry often made attacks in large traditional waves, to enable the initial breakthrough, Lieutenant Colonel Georg Bruchmüller, a German artillery officer, developed the Feuerwalze, an effective and economical creeping barrage scheme. There were three phases, first, a bombardment on the enemys command and communications, then, destruction of their artillery

9.
Hundred Days Offensive
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The offensive essentially pushed the Germans out of France, forcing them to retreat beyond the Hindenburg Line, and was followed by an armistice. The term Hundred Days Offensive does not refer to a battle or unified strategy. The Spring Offensive of the German Army on the Western Front had begun on 21 March 1918 with Operation Michael and had petered out by July, the Germans had advanced to the river Marne but failed to achieve a decisive breakthrough. When Operation Marne-Rheims ended in July, the Allied supreme commander Ferdinand Foch ordered a counter-offensive which became known as the Second Battle of the Marne, the Germans, recognising their untenable position, withdrew from the Marne towards the north. For this victory, Foch was granted the title Marshal of France, Foch considered the time had arrived for the Allies to return to the offensive. The American Expeditionary Force, was present in France in large numbers, pershing was keen to use his army in an independent role. The Somme was chosen as a site for the offensive for several reasons. As in 1916, it marked the boundary between the BEF and the French armies, in this case defined by the Amiens–Roye road, also the Picardy countryside provided a good surface for tanks, which was not the case in Flanders. Finally, the German defences, manned by the German 2nd Army, were relatively weak, the Battle of Amiens opened on 8 August 1918, with an attack by more than 10 Allied divisions—Australian, Canadian, British and French forces—with more than 500 tanks. Through careful preparation, the Allies achieved surprise, the attack, led by the British Fourth Army, broke through the German lines and tanks attacked German rear positions, sowing panic and confusion. By the end of the day, a gap 15 mi wide had been created in the German line south of the Somme, the Allies had taken 17,000 prisoners and 330 guns. Total German losses were estimated to be 30,000 men, while the Allies had suffered about 6,500 killed, wounded, the collapse in German morale led Erich Ludendorff to dub it the Black Day of the German Army. The advance continued for three days but without the spectacular results of 8 August, since the rapid advance outran the supporting artillery. During those three days, the Allies had managed to gain 12 mi but most of that had occurred on the first day, as a result of the Germans adding reinforcements. On 10 August, the Germans began to pull out of the salient that they had managed to occupy during Operation Michael in March, haig refused and prepared to launch a fresh offensive by the Third Army at Albert, which opened on 21 August. The offensive was a success, pushing the German 2nd Army back over a 34 mi front, Albert was captured on 22 August. The attack was widened on the south, by the French Tenth Army starting the Second Battle of Noyon on 17 August, capturing the town of Noyon on 29 August. On 26 August, to the north of the initial attack, with the front line broken, a number of battles took place as the Allies forced the Germans back to the Hindenburg Line

Giropa Point, Papua. Members of the 2/12th Battalion advance as Stuart tanks of the 2/6th Armoured Regiment, shell Japanese pillboxes in the final assault on Buna. An upward-firing machine gun is fitted to the tank, to clear treetops of snipers. (Photographer: George Silk).

The 6th Division was an infantry division of the Australian Army. It was raised briefly in 1917 during World War I, but …

22 January 1941. Members of 'C' Company, 2/11th Infantry Battalion, having penetrated the Italian outer defences at Tobruk and attacked anti-aircraft positions, assemble again on the escarpment at the south side of the harbour. (Photographer: Frank Hurley.)

Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Blamey, commander of Australian I Corps, Lieutenant General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, commanding general of the Empire expeditionary force ('W' Force) and Major General Bernard Freyberg, commander of the New Zealand 2nd Division, in 1941 in Greece

Australian anti-tank gunners resting, soon after their withdrawal from the Vevi area

The Salamaua–Lae campaign was a series of actions in the New Guinea campaign of World War II. Australian and United …

Image: Battle of salamaua

The Salamaua-Lae area. Salamaua is on the small peninsula just right of centre and Lae is near the mouth of the Markham River (upper right).

29 July 1943. Commandos from the Australian 2/3rd Independent Company take up position in weapon pits during an attack on Timbered Knoll, north of Orodubi, between Mubo and Salamaua. (A still from the film Assault on Salamaua by Damien Parer)

4 September 1943. The Australian 9th Division makes its amphibious landing east of Lae. LSTs can be seen completing their unloading. A tug is in the foreground and the Saruwaged Range is in the distance.

The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during World War …

France, December 1916. Unidentified members of the Australian 5th Division, enjoying a "smoko" near Mametz, on the Somme. Some are wearing slouch hats, steel helmets, sheepskin jackets and woollen gloves, demonstrating both the variety of official battledress, and how it was modified and augmented, for local conditions.

Jessie Mary Vasey CBE (19 October 1897 – 22 September 1966) was the founder and President of the War Widows' Guild of …

Jessie Vasey (second from the left) on the wharf bidding farewell to the departing troop transport RMS Strathallan carrying her husband George Alan Vasey and the Advance Party of the 6th DivisionAIF to service overseas. Vasey is flanked by her sisters Thelma Halbert (left) and Doris Sleigh (second from right), and her sister-in-law Marjorie Vasey (right).

Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Blamey talks with Vasey, Lieutenant Colonel George Alan Vasey and Lieutenant Colonel J. A. Chapman on board the troop transport RMS Strathallan during the embarkation of the Advance Party 6th Division AIF for service overseas.